Before Iruka
by singing ferret
Summary: Kakashi returns from a three day mission to a destroyed village.  How does this relate to a certain paper pusher.  Part of the Puzzle multiverse.  May be read without Prologue.  I do not own any of the Naruto characters.
1. Chapter 1

BEFORE IRUKA

Prologue

Tap. Flash-ripple.

Tap. Flash-ripple.

Anzara sighed. She had been trapped in this bubble-universe for 4 sleep cycles so far. It was impossible to tell how much time she had been here when the history of the place changed so often.

Tap. Flash-ripple. The usual three Hokage heads.

Tap. Flash-ripple. The usual four Hokage heads.

Tap. Flash-ripple. Tap. Flash-ripple. Same. Same.

She had discovered she could change the time line by tapping the overhead dome. When she was bored by the same old scenery she could touch the dome and flash-ripple it would change. She hadn't figured out how to escape this trap, but at least she could keep amused.

Or not. So many of these time lines were variations on the same theme with very little unique to distinguish them.

Tap. Flash-ripple.

Whoa. Now that was different. She circled toward her usual perch. Ooops. She wouldn't be landing there. Not only was the third head missing from Hokage mountain, but the back of the monument had been blown out as well. There was a deep, caved-in crater where her usual resting place had been.

What had happened here anyway?


	2. Chapter 2

Before Iruka —Chapter One—Kakashi Returns.

Kakashi didn't usually hurry. In fact, he had a reputation for being late. He'd started the habit as a tribute to his teammate and friend, Obito, and it had grown from there. But tomorrow morning his kids were supposed to turn in their application forms for the Chunin Exams. He needed to be on time, for once, and he needed to report his mission results to the Hokage before he did anything else, including visiting the Memorial Stone.

Of course, that did not mean his written report had to be in on time. Only one paper-pusher ever gave him grief about his reports. Honestly, once he'd given an oral report to the Hokage, the paperwork wasn't important.

But Iruka didn't see it that way. That Chunin was way out of line, demanding Kakashi bow to his demands. He had rebelled; turning in reports that were deliberately illegible if he knew "Iruka-Sensei" was on duty.

It didn't help that all three of his kids half worshipped, or at least honored, their Academy teacher.

But three days ago, Iruka had gone too far. He had challenged Kakashi, (and Kurenai, and Asuma-san) for nominating their teams. Pfft. No one expected the kids to win. They were barely 6 months out of the Academy. But the Chunin Exams would be good practice for them. They were not children to be protected, but shinobi, soldiers, to be trained.

Kakashi had been handed a mission at the end of the nomination meeting. He'd barely had time to find each of his students and give them their application forms before he had to leave the village. But that worked to his advantage. He left for his mission, but he left behind a clone, reinforcing its chakra and giving it explicit instructions to discipline The Chunin, to teach him his place as Kakashi's subordinate. If Iruka accused him of assault, Kakashi had a solid alibi complete with witnesses.

Kakashi grinned behind his mask. Would The Chunin dare to confront him about late paper work? Not likely. Not even the little "sensei" was that ballsy.

Shinobi know the tree ways like merchant ships know trade routes. It did no good to drill landmarks. There were no landmarks. Trees were alive, always growing and changing, making a benchmark totally unrecognizable. Genin were escorted to and from missions until the tree ways became instinct.

Something was…off. Kakashi switched his chakra flow mid-leap, clinging to his landing rather than pushing ahead. There should still be thick, noisy forest ahead. Instead, there was light through the branches, and a heavy, dusty quiet. Kakashi moved forward again, but much more slowly, scanning with eye and ears.

The forest ended abruptly in tumbled char. Something had swept over and burned the trees that normally shaded the Village wall. More importantly, much of the wall was missing. Two shinobi stood guard at the gate, as usual.

Kakashi dropped from the tree and ambled lazily toward the gate. He recognized both shinobi, though he could not remember the chunin's name. Why Ebisu was on gate duty was a mystery. "Yo," he called ahead.

"Hatake-san," Ebisu bowed appropriately. "Returning from your mission?"

"Hmm. I can't stand and gossip. I must report to the Hokage."

"Traitor!"

Kakashi dodged, and the chunin's weapon left a noticeable trench in the road.

"Kotetsu!" Ebisu caught hold of the Chunin from behind. "He doesn't know. He left before Iruka…. He doesn't know."

Ebisu wrestled Kotetsu to the road, then sat on him. Kotetsu continued to struggle, but it was uncoordinated. Kakashi thought the effort pathetic. "He is a traitor. You heard him. He is going to report to the hokage."

"I am sure he intended to report to The Third Hokage." Ebisu looked up from where he knelt. "Is that correct, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi couldn't help noticing how Ebisu shifted his weight. A wrong answer would have the Special Jounin off Kotetsu and on the attack immediately. He stiffly nodded, and Ebisu moved politely off of Kotetsu.

"Has something happened to Saratobi-sama?"

Ebisu stood tall and pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. "The Third Hokage was killed when the Hokage tower exploded."

Kakashi added to his list of unanswered questions, but asked only one. "Who is the new Hokage?"

"Traitor!" yelled Kotetsu.

Kakashi dodged into the Village. He'd find Asuma-san and ask him what was going on. He could have asked Ebisu, but that man was a gossip and loved to hear himself talk. Better to get answers from Asuma-san, or possibly Ibiki. Both were men of few words.

"Kotetsu! Stay here. Guard the gate. I will deal with Hatake."

Kakashi heard Ebisu's voice, but the words didn't register. He had expected to see a line of destruction from Hokage tower to the biggest breech in the wall. He had expected to see scattered evidences of firefights as his fellow shinobi retaliated against the traitor. He had not expected this total ruin. No. It had to be a matter of perspective. It only looked like the entire village was destroyed because he was standing between the breeches in the wall, where the damage was the worst. He would go to the top of Hokage Monument: From there, he would get a true picture of the …

Kakashi blinked. Where was Hokage Mountain? That couldn't be it, could it? Rising above the ruined village stood a cratered cliff. The face of the Second Hokage was blasted, but still recognizable. The First and Third faces had been struck with a force that screamed passionate rage. The Evacuation tunnel beneath the Third Hokages nose was only caved in rubble. The Fourth Hokages face was missing entirely. The underground way for T&I showed as a dark pit, angling up and in between the Third and Fourth heads: Or rather, where the heads had been.

"How could Umino cause so much destruction?" It made no sense.

"Why do you think Iruka Sensei did this?" Ebisu questioned.

"I don't know. Kakashi reached into his vest pocket. "He always was pushy."

"Konohamaru and Naruto both insisted that you hated Iruka Sensei." Ebisu pushed up his glasses and glared at the orange book Kakashi had pulled from his pocket. "I thought they were exaggerating. Iruka-San did not do this.

"I realize The Chunin could not have done this alone," Kakashi responded; disdain dripping through his posture and his vocal tone.

Ebisu shook his head. This was one of Konoha's elite? The kids were not exaggerating Kakashi's hatred of the Academy teacher. "Iruka-san had nothing to do with this."

Kakashi lowered his book, lazily questioning Ebisu with his eye. "You said, 'before Iruka'. You didn't mean 'before Iruka turned traitor?'"

"You really do hate him, don't you."?

"He's not worth hating." Kakashi eye-smiled. "So, 'before Iruka' what?"

"Hmpft. You will be pleased to know Iruka Sensei is dead. 'Before Iruka" means, before Iruka died."

Kakashi raised his book. "How?" he asked using a bored tone.

"A classroom accident. Konohamaru went in early to set up a prank and found his body in the doorway. He said there was a trail of blood leading back to the teacher's desk. I didn't see it myself. Anbu was investigating when I arrived. " Ebisu sighed. "Before Iruka. The Sensei's death was the start of everything…." Ebisu sighed again, then squared his shoulders and turned his back on Kakashi.

Kakashi transported himself to the top of what was left of Hokage Mountain. He had not been reading his little orange book.: He had been using it as a screen while he searched his clone's memories. Initially he had been looking for signs the Sensei would turn traitor.

Now he was studying those memories with another purpose. Had his clone overstepped its orders and killed the annoying paper pusher? He had wanted The Chunin punished and, if possible, intimidated. He hadn't wanted him dead.


End file.
